Solo this Valentine’s Day? Treat yourself right, be your own Valentine and get some “me time”. Invite a solo friend or two for cocktails and appetizers. Valentine’s Day is not just for couples, it can be a celebration of all kinds of love! Find some more ideas for Valentine’s picnics by just doing a Google search which produced ideas like this one below. Lots of ideas on the web for inspiration!

Valentine’s Day Indoor Family Picnic Ideas

Cranberries are the perfect color for Valentine’s Day, and are also an excellent source of nutrition. Cranberries contain Vitamin C and an array of phytonutrients which include anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer properties. All good reasons to include cranberries in your diet.

My favorite low-fat pretzel to use for this easy recipe is by The Snack Factory, check out all of their delicious flavor options. Crisp cucumber slices are perfect too, so refreshing and light! Pick you favorite cracker, or perhaps some melba toast. Have fun, use your imagination, and comment below to let us know what accompanied your caviar!

Fat-Free Amaretti

Making my way, or I should say eating my way, through Italy with my parents at the ripe ol’ age of fourteen, there were four things I ate and drank because I absolutely loved them: Asti Spumanti, an Italian sparkling wine made in the town of my maternal Grandfather; Binoli, a scrumptious little custard filled pastry; pasta, all kinds; and last but not the least, Amaretti cookies!

If you have never had them, they are wonderful, crunchy almond cookies made with ground almonds and egg whites. The good imported brands are sold at most Italian delicatessens and in some specialty grocery stores. I simply cannot pass them up! Needless to say, the following is not an original Italian recipe, but it mimics the original quite nicely! Serve with coffee or as an accompaniment to a fruit salad for a light desert. Perfect for Christmas-time treats, just sprinkle with red and green colored sugar topping before baking!

Whisk together egg white, cream of tartar, and sugar until blended and syrupy. Do not beat into meringue.

Whisk in almond extract. Fold in cereal until evenly coated.

For the best results bake on silicone baking mats and do not use cooking spray. Spoon one tablespoon dollops of the mixture onto lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle cookie tops with raw sugar or colored sugar.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies should be a light golden brown, centers should be crisp not chewy. Allow cookies to cool for at least five minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Cookies will harden as they cool. Store in an air tight container. Makes approximately 20 cookies.

Enjoy!

*Boxed egg products are pasteurized, meaning they have been pre-heated to prevent spoilage and bacterial growth. They will not yield a good result in this recipe, you must use fresh egg whites, out of the shell. Trust me, I have tried it, lol!

A fat-free recipe for medium garden grown zucchini,
or other vegetable of your heart’s desire!

Ahhh zucchini.

You can stuff them, steam them, sauté them, even eat them raw! They are a low-calorie vegetable that will take on the flavor, be it sweet or savory, of whatever you choose to mix with them.

Garden grown zucchini present a special challenge…size – it really does matter.

Young tender 6 to 7-inch zucchini squash are perfect for steaming or sauté, 8 to 10-inch are great for stuffing. If you allow them to grow larger, they become a problem: the skin is tough, the flavor is strong, and they tend to be a little bitter. Typically, zucchini larger than 10 inches go to what I call, “grated recipe” status; I use them in breads, fritters, cookies, salads. But, oh those seeds, what to do with them, they definitely must go!

This year’s garden provided an overabundance of larger zucchini nearing the end of the growing season due to my waning attention. With a glass of Moscato wine in one hand, and a 14-inch long zucchini in the other, I decided to do something daring…

I laid it on the counter. There it was, in front me, about 2 inches in diameter. What to do with it? I grabbed my knife and hesitantly sliced it in half. (Now, here is where it gets tricky: how big are the darn seeds?!) Hmmm, I inspected. This one had smallish seeds, and so I finished the slicing of it. I continued into ½ inch thick round slices. Not holding anything back, I spontaneously moved forward with a recipe I had been flirting with for quite some time!

You don’t really need a certain sized zucchini for this recipe, not a giant, smaller is better. Suffice it to say, my 14-incher turned out cravingly well even though it was a slightly larger sized zucchini than I would have normally chosen to use.

Here comes the fun part of this recipe: the tweaks! Those fun creative touches that will make this recipe your own. I am all about experimenting and trying new things! Looking forward to hearing what tweaks you did and the results. Try some of these and create a cravable new favorite!

Use any sized zucchini except a giant, and cut it into any shape you like, you may have to adjust cooking time for smaller or larger sized pieces.

Use any vegetable you like, simply adjust the cooking time for the density of the vegetable. For instance, potatoes and cauliflower may take a little longer cooking time to achieve the desired tenderness.

Serve as an appetizer, a side to your favorite main dish, or as a main dish if you are doing vegetarian.

Change up the ethnicity! Add different spices to the egg or the breading mix, your choice, let you imagination go wild! (I like to season both mixtures to give ‘two layers of flavor”.)

Serve with a sauce and garnish! Fat-Free Ginger Sesame Dressing (Lighthouse Sesame Ginger Dressing is one of my favorite!) or a few dashes of soy sauce for Asian; with fat-free pasta sauce for Italian, with traditional fat-free Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing for game day festivities, or make up your own low-fat or fat-free sauce! You can even top them with a few sprinkles of fat-free cheese for the last minute of baking in the oven. Pictured are Mae Ploy Sweet Chilli Sauce, a dollop of spicy mustard, and sprinkle of cilantro; also pictured with fat-free ranch or blue cheese dressing.

Marinate the zucchini before you bread them for another layer of flavor. A 20 minute soak in your favorite marinade would do the trick. How about soy sauce mixed with seasoned rice wine vinegar, lemon juice, or perhaps balsamic vinegar with a dash of garlic. Dill pickle juice for that “fried pickle” flavor!

Pre-heat oven to 350°. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, then spray with a light coating of fat-free cooking spray. Set aside.
Cut vegetables, set aside.
In a shallow bowl mix together egg substitute and onion powder, set aside.

Beaten egg and onion powder. Add other spices to the wash for an extra layer of flavor!

In another shallow bowl mix together the last four ingredients, set aside.

Corn flake breading mixture…yum!

Set up your breading prep area; from right to left or left to right whichever is most comfortable for you. Set up in a line with vegetables first, egg mixture second, corn flake crumb mixture, then baking pan. First dip vegetables into the egg mix using only your left or right hand, next into the corn flakes using the opposite hand, then place onto baking sheet. This method is the best way to keep your hands from getting “breaded”!

Set up for prep area, start from the side most comfortable for you.

Ready to bake!

Bake for 30 minutes or until desired color is reached, and vegetables are fork tender. Serve warm. Serves 6.

Fresh out of the oven!

Can be made ahead and reheated in the microwave.

(Yum, I just devoured some of the photo shoot left-overs from yesterday!)

Need I say more? It is a very yummy quick bread that will satisfy any hearty appetite! You can rewarm this savory bread in the microwave or in the toaster. Breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, tea, or snack, it won’t disappoint. Serve as a side with a steaming bowl of your favorite soup or a fresh salad. It would be awesome toasted with scrambled Egg Beatersor an egg white omelet!

…always seems so cozy to have a glass of wine in the middle of your ingredients!

As I am writing this blog post my husband is on the phone with me. I am trying to decide if I need more photos for the post, he is assuring me that I do, whilst begging me to make a double recipe…hee, hee, I love it when a recipe creation turns out so well that my husband, Frankie-the-Fat-Lover, wants more!

By hand, no mixer:In a large bowl combine dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Add milk and vinegar mixture. Mix with hands until dough is formed and turn out onto floured board. Knead just until dough is soft and well blended. Do not over knead or dough will become tough.

Mixer method:Place all dry ingredients into bowl of electric mixer. With paddle or dough hook attachment, turn on low to blend dry ingredients. Add milk and vinegar mixture and process just until dough pulls away from the sides of mixing bowl. Do not over mix as dough will become tough. Turn out onto floured board.

Add all dry ingredients to mixing bowl…

…give the beater a couple of turns to blend dry ingredients…

…add milk and vinegar, blend until dough pulls cleanly away from side of the mixing bowl.

Shape into one 8-inch long loaf. Slice diagonal vents on top of loaf.

Ready to place in the pan!

Place into pan. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm from the oven or cool on baking rack until ready to serve.

Valentine’s Day is another reason to stay healthy for your loved ones – they need you!

Another holiday that centers around calories, but then what holiday doesn’t? Go for the right kind of calories and start out your special feast with a tasty, fat-free appetizer that is so very easy to make, it will be ready to serve in minutes! This heart-healthy nosh is perfect for a Valentine’s Day picnic anywhere: floor, snow cave, or bedroom! (wink-wink!)
Cranberries can be served year-round, and they are the perfect color for this holiday! If no one is available with whom you can celebrate this year, please treat yourself right, be your own Valentine and make this just for you! The health benefits of Cranberries are substantial, so go for it!